Tech Gear: communicating on the trail

In the beginning, there was the pay phone, and I carried a toll-free number to call home. Then I got a cell phone and we carried it, left it off, and buried it in the deepest pocket of my backpack never to be used until my return to civilization. Emergencies only--we were being ridiculously purist about the whole wilderness experience. Eventually we realized that using the phone sporadically, but tactically, to, say, make reservations for a hotel room two days away would kick my walking into high gear. (Case in point: walking my first 30-mile day, followed by a 25-mile day with 1500-ft climb to get to Timberline Lodge so that I could relax and bask in the hotel's 1930s-era wrought iron detailing. For those that don't know, I am a metallurgist geek who will pull out all the stops for a good patina, or a glimpse of some 18th-century slag.) I will carry a phone this time, but I want to use it to call people, type my journal, dictate my thoughts and upload these to the web. Of course, in civilization we have addicts of the crackberry, in relentless pursuit of 24/7 connectivity, but a) I don't want or need to be in constant contact, and b) I don't even know if and when I will have a signal.

Cupcake/Keystone (www.cupcakewalk.com) is tech savvy, and used a variety of gadgets for his PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) and CDT (Continental Divide Trail) hikes. We talked about what might work best for me - large enough keyboard for typing, but not too heavy, good battery lifetime, camera, bluetooth capable (which is where my understanding begins to diminish), microphone for dictation, etc., etc. I think that the Samsung Alias II will work b/c it looks like a hinged cell phone (making me feel comfortable) but swivels into a QWERTY keyboard for typing. Battery life good. Normal size. Not too expensive. I plan to buy one and give it a 30-day test drive.

I aim to update my blog every few days, and I will certainly do my best to journal at night, although many times the exhaustion of the day sets in and after dinner, I fall fast asleep.

Now to begin preparation of my food boxes and to purchase my tent (Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo E).

70 days until the Mexican border.

"Sticky"